The NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring championship games, including this Saturday’s matchups between the St. Thomas and St. John’s men’s basketball teams and the St. Thomas and Lake Forest men’s hockey teams, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement from NCAA president Mike Emmert Thursday.

The basketball teams were set to compete in the Sweet 16 round of the Division III men’s basketball tournament and the hockey teams in the first round of the Division III men’s ice hockey tournament. As of right now, St. Thomas spring sports are going on as scheduled, except for the NCAA tournaments, according to St. Thomas Sports Information Director Gene McGivern.

McGivern also stated that more information is likely to follow in the coming days.

This decision comes a day after the NCAA announced games would go on in mostly empty arenas. The NBA, MLB and NHL all announced within the past 24 hours that their seasons would be put on hold indefinitely.

“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” Emmert said in a statement.

The NCAA canceled all of its spring championships in every sport, which include hockey, baseball and lacrosse.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the virus.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been played every year since 1939 when Oregon won the championship in Evanston, Illinois. It has grown through the years, both in size and stature. The three-week tournament generates almost a billion dollars in revenue each year for the NCAA and its hundreds of member universities and colleges, most coming from a television contract with CBS and Turner that pays the NCAA almost $800 million per year.

It is now one of the biggest events in American sports, a basketball marathon of buzzer-beaters, upset and thrills involving 68 teams. The field for the men’s tournament was scheduled to be announced Sunday. The 64-team women’s field was to be revealed Monday. The NCAA women’s tournament began in 1982 and it, too, has become a big event, raising the profile of the sport.

“I’m disappointed but I totally understand. I really feel for the senior student-athletes; every student athlete, but particularly the seniors because this is their last chance for the fans,” said Oregon women’s coach Kelly Graves, whose team would have entered the tournament as favorites to reach the Final Four in New Orleans. “There’s something more important than the games going on. I’ve kind of come to grips to that a little more than a few hours ago.”

Games would have started on the men’s side on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, before spreading out to eight sites from coast-to-coast from next Thursday through Sunday. The women’s tournament was scheduled to begin March 20, with first- and second-round games to be played at 16 sites on or near the campuses of the top teams.

The men’s Final Four was to be played April 4 and 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The semifinals and final typically pack football stadiums for the games, and after the champion is crowned the best moments of the year’s tournament are wrapped up into the “One Shining Moment” montage that has become a staple of CBS’ television coverage through the years.

Instead, March Madness took on a different meaning as sports have virtually shut down.

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AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this report. TommieMedia’s Kat Barrett, Justin Amaker and Andrés Tejeda also contributed to this report.

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